Day 8: What is Compost? How is it Made?
1) Video: Please share this 5 min video with your students.
Discussion points:
1) Q: What is compost?
A: Compost is considered “organic recycling.” It is the product when food scraps and yard waste such as leaves are mixed together and millions of good bacteria work to process that mixture into healthy soil. We call the lunchroom collection bucket “compost,” but it does not truly become compost until it breaks down with the leaves and yard waste to become useful soil for the ground.
2) Q: What can go into the compost bucket?
A: Food scraps, compostable paper plates and napkins, brown paper bags.
3) Q: What cannot go into the compost?
A: Plastic, aluminum, glass, milk cartons, juice boxes and juice pouches, straws
3) Q: Does it compost smell bad?
A: No, if the materials are mixed together properly you will have the smell like walking through the forest after a rain.
Math: To mix properly, you need 3 parts of leaves to 1 part of food waste. Leaves are dry and food is wet, a water transfer takes place and a volume reduction of nearly 40% takes place within a few days.
Science: It takes about 3 weeks from mixing the food and yard waste to finished compost if you take care of your pile. During the first two weeks, the temperature inside the pile can be up to 130 degrees…pheew that is hot!
